Method of making tool joints



.Aug. 25, 1942. R. NEUHAUS 2,293,997

METHOD OF MAKING TOOL JOINTS Filed Aug. 1, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RalphNezzhaw INVENTOR ATTORNEY 25, 1942. R. NEUHAUS 2,293,997

METHOD OF MAKING TOOL JOINTS Filed Aug. 1, 1939 {Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4Fig.5

' aZph Bauhaus INVENTO ATTORNEY Pate enter! Aug. 25, 1942 UNITED STATEMETHOD OF MAKING TOOL JOINTS Ralph Neuhaus, Houston, Tex, assignor toHughes Tool'Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of DelawareApplication August 1,1939, Serial No. 287,695 4 Claims. (01 29-1482) Theinvention relates to methods of making tool joints such as are employedin connecting together sections of drill stem used in well drilling. Itis concerned particularly with tool joints' the pipe end may berepaired.

Figs. 4 and 5 are side elevation, and end views respectively of thesleeve employed in bringing the pipe end up to its original gage of thejoint.

Where a pipe end and the tool joint formed 55 integrally thereon, andalso where the tool joint was originally screwed to the pipe, has becomeso worn that it has to be either discarded'or repaired. This inventionmay be employed to adwhich are attached integrally upon the ends of 5vantage. It is also obvious that the new tool drill pipe sections. jointcan be originally attached to the upset end Tool joints are mostcommonly made of larger of a pipe section by this means. In thedrawexternal diameter than is the body of the pipe ings the pipe I, in'use becomes worn, particusection to which they are attached. In use thelarly along the outer surface a of the upset end tool joints contactwith the side of the well bore 3. Also the tool Joint t becomes worn andneeds and as the drill stem is rotated, the exterior of replacement. Insuch case the old joint is cut the Joints and the adjacent upset end ofthe pipe off from the pipe along the line indicated by the are wornuntil they are no longer safe. The dotted line 5. If the pipe is newthis will be the shoulder beneath which the elevators engage beform ofthe end thereof. comes so reduced that it no longer provides a e p peend 3 s n turned d n On its sumcient stop against which the elevatorsmay outer surface to provide a true cylindrical outer contact to supportand lift the. drilling string. periphery having a diameter ofpredetermined If the tool joint is cut off and a new one subsizematerially smaller than is the outer diame stituted, the wall of thepipe is still so worn that eter of the new jo nt to be Secur d thereto.a strong and substantial connection of the new Upon this outer peripheryis fitted a ring or joint with the pipe is impossible. sleeve 6 which isslightly thicker than is neces- Furthermore, the formation of tooljoints insary to bring the outer diameter of the pipe up tegrally withthe pipe is dimcult and expensive to that of the joint 5. This sleevemay be forged, due to the fact that the tool joint itself must or may becut from tubular stock if desired, but be of harder steel than is thepipe and al o t preferably it is formed as illustrated in Figs. 3problems of manufacture. It is therefore desired to 5 inclusive. 9 toprovide a method of attaching tool joints to A blank piece of metalplate 1 is cut to the the pipe end which will be simple and economicalcorrect dimensions and beveled on three of its ofv accomplishment. edgesas shown at B, 8'. The bevel at the ends It is also an object of thisinventi n to prois slightly concaved. The blank is then bent into vide amethod of bringing the pipe end of a worn y d c or o b ng t e en s 8together as joint up to its originalgage and to thus furnish shown inFigs. 4 and 5. A bond of welding metal a connection between the pipe andthe tool joint 9 s then p y d Secure e, e rigidly which is assatisfactory as the original joint. together- This may b n n e p pe endIt is desired to be able to provide a method if p ferred. 1 I I forreplacing a tool joint upon a pipe end with The r n ,v if .d s r d, eformed with which it is integrally attached, in such manner pockets inits outer face. Said pockets Ill may that the original strength and sizeof the joint be appr mat y r tan u ar as s wn in Fi sis not impaired, 1and 2, the depth of the recesses or pockets being It is a further objectto form the outer face 40 Sufllcient ceive therein deposits f ha d ofthe pipe at the joint so as to resist wear and metal H w c ay betungsten carbide or simiabrasion thereon. lar material. Said deposits donot fill the pockets, In the drawings herewith, but leave enough metaloutside the hard mate- Fig, 1 is a, side View partly in central longlturial 130 permit turning dOWn the outer surface Of dinal section showinga pipe end and tool joint the sleeve. Obviously these'deposits of hardmaaccording to this invention "before the finishing a ust e placed inposition after the plate steps have been taken. has been bent to ringform. This may be done Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 in itsfinished y welding the metal in p ace from a composite form, v v rod ortube or any similar method. Also prem 3 is plan View of blank from hi hformed inserts or pads of hard material may be placed in the pockets andbrazed in position. If it is preferred a continuous ring of hard facingmay be employed instead of spaced areas as shown so long as the hardmaterial is presented in such way as to prevent excessive wear.

The sleeve is then fixed upon the outer surface of the pipe and with thebeveled portion 8' away from'the pipe end. Welding metal i2 is used tosecure the sleeve rigidly in position.

The end i3 of the pipe and sleeve are then butt welded to the end of thetool joint, the hard metal of the joint being distinguished from. themetal of the pipe and sleeve by heavier cross hatching in Figs. 1 and 2.In welding these two parts together they must be in exact axialalignmentwhich means that sometimes the outer peripheries of the joint and sleevedo not come exactly flush. However, as the sleeve 6 is'thicker than isnecessary, it may be turned down from its oversize form as shown in Fig.1, to its-final size shown in Fig. 2 with the periphery flush with thatof the joint 4. Also the beveled end of the sleeve and the bond ofwelding metal la in Fig. 1 are turned down to an accurate shoulder id asseen in Fig. 2. When the outer surface of the sleeve and the from theform shown in Fig. l to the form shown in Fig. 2 the assembled structureis stronger and more wear resisting than is an original joint not hardfaced and the life of the pipe is thereby weld have been machined Iapproximately doubled with a minimum of cost of time and material.

The hard material ii in the welded sleeve serve to protect the wholejoint from wear. If the steel of the joint wears somewhat, then the hardmetal will contact with the casing or the wall a material, tend toassist the starting of cracks in the wall of the joint. Cracks startingin the hard material would tend to be extended farther into the steel ofthe joint. However when said hard facing is placed upon the sleeve, anycracks which may be initiated in the hard facing will not be propagatedfrom the sleeve into the pipe or joint and hence will not weaken thepipe or joint.

The resulting structu e is therefore strong and durable when the methodis employed either in the original construction of a joint or when usedin the repair of joints that have become worn.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of constructing tool joints secured upon the ends ofexternally upset pipe sections, including cutting the pipe at a pointspaced from the point of upset, reducing the outer periphery of the pipeto a cylindrical surface, securing upon said periphery a sleeve of steelhaving an outer diameter slightly oversize relative tool joint, forminga bond of welding material about the end 01' the sleeve adjacent thepipe upset, butt welding the ends of the pipe and sleeve to a new tooljoint. and machining the outer surface of said sleeve and said weld tobring the periphery of said sleeve flush with the periphery of saidjoint.

2. A method of constructing tool joints secured upon the ends ofexternally upset pipe sections, including cutting the pipe at a pointspaced from the point of upset, reducing the outer periphery of the pipeto a cylindrical surface, securing upon said periphery a sleeve of steelhaving an outer diameter slightly oversize relative to the tool jointand one end of which is beveled externally, forming a bond of weldingmaterial above the end of the sleeve and the pipe adjacent the pipeupset, welding the ends of the pipe and sleeve to a new tool joint, andmachining the outer surface of said sleeve and said weld to bring theperiphery of said sleeve flush with the periphery of said joint, andcutting the beveled end of the sleeve and said weld to form an accuratetapered shoulder on the pipe to receive the pipe elevators.

3. A method of constructing tool joints secured upon the ends of upsetpipe sections, including cutting the pipe section at the end to receivethe joint, machining the pipe end to a cylindrical form, forming asleeve upon the periphery by bending a plate to cylindrical form andwelding the ends of said plate together upon said pipe end, forming abond of welding material between said pipe and the end of said sleeveremote from the end of the pipe. welding the pipe and sleeve to a newjoint, forming an accurate elevator receiving shoulder on said sleeveand said bond of welding material and cutting the outer periphery ofsaid sleeve to correspond to that of the joint.

4. A method of constructing tool joints secured upon the ends of upsetpipe sections, including cutting the pipe section at the end to receivethis joint, machining the pipe end to a cylindrical form, forming asleeve upon the periphery by cutting a rectangular plate of thedetermined size, bending said plate into the form of a sleeve, placingsaid sleeve upon said pipe end, welding the ends of said plate together,forming a bond of welding material at the end of said sleeve remote fromthe endof the pipe, welding the pipe and sleeve to a new joint, formingan accurate elevator receiving shoulder on said sleeve and said bond ofwelding material to the and cutting the outer periphery of said sleeveto correspond to that of the joint.

RALPH NEUHAUS.

